Gordonsville during the Civil War

Gordonsville, Virginia, in Orange and Louisa counties, was founded as a stop on a
stagecoach route and the site of a tavern. By the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865), it was a key railroad
stop connecting the Shenandoah
Valley and the Confederate capital at Richmond, and as such, it attracted attention from both
Confederate and Union troops. The Exchange Hotel in Gordonsville was also used by the
Confederacy as an important military hospital. MORE...

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Named in 1787 for Nathaniel Gordon, Gordonsville began as a small way station for
travelers on the main road known as the "Fredericksburg Great Road" connecting to the
city of Charlottesville from the west
and Richmond to the east. Originally consisting of little more than a tavern, this
small village was a popular stopping place for such prominent men as George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Henry Clay. Because of its prime
location, Gordonsville soon became a trade center for the surrounding plantations and
countryside. In 1839, Virginia's General Assembly approved a plan to extend the Virginia Central
Railroad to the town, linking it to the state capital. The area continued to
prosper, and in 1854 the
Orange and Alexandria Railroad completed its own line into the town giving
Gordonsville, and by extension the Confederate capital at Richmond, access to
agricultural goods from the Shenandoah Valley.

As the front lines of the war began to solidify across northern Virginia,
Gordonsville became a town of vast strategic importance. Produce and goods from the
Shenandoah Valley flowed out along the rail lines. Confederates also took advantage
of the connecting lines to transport troops quickly from the Shenandoah Valley to the
northern Virginia front, as when General Joseph E. Johnston combined forces with
General Pierre G. T.
Beauregard prior to the First Battle of Manassas (1861). As the war
progressed, Gordonsville emerged as a central holding station for Confederate
detachments as well as the main army. Most prominent, Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson,
Richard S. Ewell, A. P. Hill, and Wade Hampton all
bivouacked in the town at various times throughout the war.

Recognizing its importance, the Union army made several failed attempts to capture
Gordonsville and thereby cut off the Confederate military and supply line. The
closest encounter occurred in June 1864 when Union major general Philip H. Sheridan led a
determined cavalry raid in the direction of Gordonsville. Confederate cavalry
commander Wade Hampton intercepted Sheridan in the vicinity of Trevilian Station about
eight miles away and after a chaotic and dogged fight, repulsed Sheridan from the
region.

In addition to Gordonsville's role as a Confederate supply line, it also housed an
important medical hospital. In March 1862, the town's premier inn, the Exchange
Hotel, was converted into a battlefield receiving hospital. During its four-year
tenure, the medical center treated more than 70,000 Confederate and captured Union
soldiers. During Reconstruction (1865–1877), the Freedman's Bureau used the hotel as a
hospital for newly freed African Americans. Today the restored late-Greek
Revival–style Exchange Hotel serves as a Civil War museum.

Time Line

1787
- Gordonsville, in Orange and Louisa counties, is founded and named for Nathaniel Gordon. It is a small way station for travelers on the main road connecting to Charlottesville from the west and Richmond to the east.

1839
- The General Assembly approves a plan to extend the Virginia Central Railroad to Gordonsville, linking it to the state capital at Richmond.

1854
- The Orange and Alexandria Railroad completes a line to Gordonsville, giving the community access to agricultural goods from the Shenandoah Valley.

June 11–12, 1864
- Union major general Philip H. Sheridan leads a cavalry raid in the direction of Gordonsville that is repulsed at the Battle of Trevilian Station.